Customs Authorities Capture Stowaways

Riviera Beach — Four stowaways from the Dominican Republic cut a hole in the top of a shipping container to escape and were captured after a five-minute chase at the Port of Palm Beach on Monday.

The young adult men were in a cargo container when it was taken off the ship, said Mike McClarnon, supervisory patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's West Palm Beach office. They had a homemade hacksaw and other tools, he said.

They made a run for freedom through a loading area, but were apprehended just as they got onto Martin Luther King Boulevard, McClarnon said. Customs officers turned them over to the Border Patrol. "The whole thing lasted about five minutes," McClarnon said.

They all appeared to be in good health and were placed on a ship to be returned to the Dominican Republic.